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- == Consequences of 1965 ==
== Consequences of 1965 ==
- #India ended up having 20+ "Official Languages" and no sole "National Language" similar to the modern European Union.
#India ended up having 20+ "Official Languages" and no sole "National Language" similar to the modern European Union.
- #English remains as one of the two official languages of the Union and is seen as a huge positive in the globalised, post-1991 Indian economy.
- #Every state has its own "Official Language", which can be different from that of the Central Government's "Official Languages" which are Hindi and English. Out of the 28 states and 7 UTs, 18 states and 4 UTs do not have Hindi as one of the "Official Languages" for state government transactions.
#English remains as one of the two official languages of the Union and is seen as a huge positive in the globalised, post-1991 Indian economy.
#Every state has its own "Official Language", which can be different from that of the Central Government's "Official Languages" which are Hindi and English. Out of the 28 states and 7 UTs, 18 states and 4 UTs do not have Hindi as one of the "Official Languages" for state government transactions.
- #Many states adopt the state level language and English as the official languages. For example, Tamil Nadu has [[Tamil language|Tamil]] and English as the "Official Languages". However, some of these ( Congress ruled ) states have promoted the teaching of Hindi as a third language throughout their school systems.
#Many states adopt the state level language and English as the official languages. For example, Tamil Nadu has [[Tamil language|Tamil]] and English as the "Official Languages". However, some of these ( Congress ruled ) states have promoted the teaching of Hindi as a third language throughout their school systems.
- #The Congress was thrown out of power in [[1967]] and never managed to be a potent force in Tamil Nadu. This need not be a direct consequence of Hindi imposition.
#The Congress was thrown out of power in [[1967]] and never managed to be a potent force in Tamil Nadu. This need not be a direct consequence of Hindi imposition.



== References ==
== References ==

Revision as of 02:41, 16 September 2008

Template:Dravidian parties

Anti-Hindi Imposition agitation is a term used to describe the opposition of people of Tamil Nadu who voiced against the Indian Government's attempts to impose Hindi as the sole Official language of India during 1960s. [1] The same feeling even continues now [2][3]. Even though officially, the Indian government has both Hindi and English as official language for communication with the states. The states can choose their official language (as spoken by majority) along with English. Today, many confuse the original 'Anti-Hindi' imposition for official purposes to anti-Hindi language use.[4]

Annadurai's Speech in Indian Parliament

In an address in 1962, former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C N Annadurai made the following statements opposing Hindi imposition: "It is claimed that Hindi should be common language because it is spoken by the majority. Why should we then claim the tiger as our national animal instead of the rat which is so much more numerous? Or the peacock as our national bird when the crow is ubiquitous?"

Annadurai also said,

"Since every school in India teaches English, why can't it be our link language? Why do Tamils have to study English for communication with the world and Hindi for communications within India? Do we need a big door for the big dog and a small door for the small dog? I say, let the small dog use the big door too!" [5]

Most people in Tamilnadu feel that if Hindi enters their land, their classical language and ancient culture/tradition would be no more, citing cities like Mumbai, Kolkata and Hyderabad where the native language is rendered nearly auxiliary: in any of these cities it is entirely possible to live without knowing the native language, with Hindi serving as lingua franca; in so much that both political and non-political organizations alike have expressed concerns over the future of their native language/culture [6][7][8][9]

Pre-Independence

Hindi imposition in Tamil Nadu started in 1937 when the Congress Government of the Madras Presidency under C. Rajagopalachari (Rajaji) made Hindi a compulsory subject in schools. (The British were still the rulers of the Indian subcontinent at that time but elected local governments in the Provinces were installed under the British rule. Madras Presidency was a province that included much of present Tamil Nadu and parts of present Andhra Pradesh.) Tamils opposed Hindi imposition immediately and Sir A. T. Panneerselvam (the first non-brahmin barrister from Tamil Nadu) and E.V. Ramaswamy (later be known as Periyar or "the Elder one") organized anti-Hindi imposition protests in 1938. Mr. Thalamuthu and Mr. Natarajan were killed during the protests. Rajaji himself changed his attitude about Hindi, and started opposing Hindi imposition. In 1939 the Rajaji government quit and it was withdrawn in 1940.[10]

Post-Independence

The 1940s, 50s and the first half of the 1960s saw many anti-Hindi imposition protests in the form of public meetings, marches, hunger strikes, demonstrations before schools and Indian government offices, and black flag demonstrations before visiting Indian government ministers. Most of these were organized either by the DK or the DMK, and the general public supported them fully. There were several hundred such protests around Tamil Nadu and several thousand people went to jail. Several hundreds were injured when police used lathi charge (charge with wooden sticks) to disburse peaceful protesters.

In addition to the killings by Indian security forces, Chinnaswamy, Muthu, Ranganathan, Sarangapani, Sivalingam and Veerappan poured petrol (gasoline) over their bodies and burned themselves to death in protest of Hindi imposition [11]. [unreliable source?](Such an act is called self-immolation.) Senior politicians of the ruling Congress Party in Tamil Nadu and in New Delhi promised that Hindi would not be imposed, and the agitation ended in mid-February 1965.

There was another Tamil Nadu Students Agitation against Hindi imposition in 1968. This agitation was minor compared to the 1965 agitation, primarily because the newly elected DMK Government of Tamil Nadu State (that came to power in early 1967) immediately met with student leaders and promised that it would see to it that Hindi is not imposed. In the opinion of many Tamilians [12], Hindi imposition has continued to this day.

There were also significant protests when All India Radio was renamed to Akashvani. [13][14]

1965

The constitution of India came into existence on January 26, 1950. Enshrined in the constitution was the status of Hindi and English to be the "Official Languages" of the Central Government of India till 1965 (for a period of 15 years), after which Hindi was expected to take up the pre-eminent position as the sole "National and Official Language" of India irrespective of the state or central government. Hindi and English were the "Official Languages" in every department controlled by the Central Government, which is why Hindi and English are prominent in Railways (except the State of Tamil Nadu[15]), Nationalised Banks etc which come under the Central Government.

As January 26, 1965 neared, waves of non-Hindi speakers, started voicing their apprehensions openly, notably Tamils contribution is significant. Between 1948 and 1961, on an average, every year close to 24% of Central Government Officials were selected from the state of Madras (present day Tamil Nadu). The next best was Uttar Pradesh with about 16%. The idea of making Hindi the sole National language was blasphemous to the students as it was combined with the complete removal of English - even as a medium of education was detrimental to their future.[16] This would mean that the Northern regions with their Hindi proficiency would dominate the government posts and also education. Since government jobs were the most lucrative positions before 1991 liberalization, this was seen by South Indians as an indirect means to lose these jobs to natural Hindi speakers. The non-Hindi-speaking people in South India feared that they would be discriminated against in government employment and in other ways. The pro-Hindi fanatics in Jan Sangh prowled the streets of New Delhi, blackening out any English sign.[17]. Annadurai said you can speak Tamil and English and still be a good Indian.

The anti-Hindi agitations also led to the demand for creation of Dravidistan, a separate state for the speakers of Dravidian languages. [18], while some others considered it as a result of the divide and rule principle of the British. A coterie of Congress bigwigs like S. Nijalingappa (CM of Mysore), Kamaraj (Congress President), Sanjiva Reddy (Union Minister), Atulya Ghosh (Bengal Congress President) realised the gravity of the situation and asked the Prime Minster, Shastri to revoke the policy of making Hindi the sole "National Language".

Shastri, even though supportive of the pro-Hindi group, realising the seriousness, came up with a set of compromises that did not give Hindi any "Sole National Language" status. Most importantly, English was not removed from being a medium for competitive examinations like the All India Civil Services Examination. Also, the transaction between the State and the Central will be in the Official language of the state accompanied with an English translation. For example, communication from Tamil Nadu to the Central Government will be in Tamil and English; communication from the center to Tamil Nadu will be in English and Hindi. Thus, the 1965 anti Hindi agitation subsided.[19]

Consequences of 1965

  1. India ended up having 20+ "Official Languages" and no sole "National Language" similar to the modern European Union.
  2. English remains as one of the two official languages of the Union and is seen as a huge positive in the globalised, post-1991 Indian economy.
  3. Every state has its own "Official Language", which can be different from that of the Central Government's "Official Languages" which are Hindi and English. Out of the 28 states and 7 UTs, 18 states and 4 UTs do not have Hindi as one of the "Official Languages" for state government transactions.
  4. Many states adopt the state level language and English as the official languages. For example, Tamil Nadu has Tamil and English as the "Official Languages". However, some of these ( Congress ruled ) states have promoted the teaching of Hindi as a third language throughout their school systems.
  5. The Congress was thrown out of power in 1967 and never managed to be a potent force in Tamil Nadu. This need not be a direct consequence of Hindi imposition.

References

  1. ^ A chronology of anti-Hindi agitations in Tamil Nadu
  2. ^ http://sify.com/news/fullstory.php?id=13248076 agitation against use of Hindi words on milestones in national highways
  3. ^ http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/657106.cms
  4. ^ A.R. Venkatachalapathy (2007-12-20). "60 Revolutions - Anti-Hindi Agitation". India Today.
  5. ^ http://www.geocities.com/tamiltribune/99/0104.html A tale from Annadurai's speech opposing Hindi imposition
  6. ^ The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Work towards implementing Kannada in Central Government units, KDA told
  7. ^ Bollywood's towering presence overshadows Marathi cinema-Mumbai-Cities-The Times of India
  8. ^ ‘Only Bangla plea’ in stations-Kolkata-Cities-The Times of India
  9. ^ Telugus abandoning mother tongue-Hyderabad-Cities-The Times of India
  10. ^ Hindi Imposition and Independence for Tamil Nadu from India
  11. ^ Self-immolation of Tamilians in order to oppose Hindi imposition
  12. ^ Article by a Tamilian in Delhi, illustrating that Hindi imposition continues to this day
  13. ^ Tamils still oppose Hindi
  14. ^ Chronology of Anti- Hindi movements
  15. ^ http://www.indianrailways.gov.in/deptts/off-lang/rule1976_eng.PDF
  16. ^ Robert L. Hardgrave, Jr.(1973) The Riots in Tamilnad: Problems and Prospects of India's Language Crisis. Asian Survey. University of California Press.
  17. ^ "Retreat to English". TIME. March 05, 1965. Retrieved 2007-08-30. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  18. ^ Stein, Burton (1998). A History of India. Blackwell Publishing. p. 402. ISBN 0631205462.
  19. ^ Ramachandra Guha. "Hindi against India". The Hindu. Retrieved 2007-08-30.

- * Articles on Hindi imposition - * Tamil Nation

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